BACKGROUND Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is typically characterized by instability and impaired behaviour, affectivity, interpersonal relations and lifestyle. The most common condition comorbid with BPD is a depressive episode. Depression is associated with severe disturbance of the circadian rhythms. This is apparent in depressive patients with BPD. Both sleep and diurnal rhythms are d...

Heightened sensitivity to threat and reduced sensitivity to reward are potential mechanisms of dysfunction in anxiety and depressive disorders, respectively. However, few studies have simultaneously examined whether these mechanisms are unique or common to these disorders. In this study, sensitivity to predictable and unpredictable threat (measured by startle response during threat anticipation...

CONTEXT Anxiety disorders commonly present in primary care, where evidence-based mental health treatments often are unavailable or suboptimally delivered. OBJECTIVE To compare evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders with usual care (UC) in primary care for principal and comorbid generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and posttraumatic st...

BACKGROUND Our aim was to examine whether comorbid mood and anxiety disorders influence patterns of treatment or the perceived unmet need for treatment among those not receiving treatment for illegal drug use disorders. METHODS Data came from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC, 2001-2002 and 2004-2005, n = 34,653). Lifetime DSM-IV illegal drug use diso...

Self-harm behaviors are a major public health concern across the lifespan, particularly among individuals with psychiatric disorders. Little research, however, has examined these behaviors among individuals with a diagnosis characterized by recurrent acts of impulsive aggression, Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). Furthermore, extant research has not examined variables that might mediate th...

BACKGROUND Hospital-treated deliberate self harm and suicide among older adults have rarely been examined at a national level. METHODS The Irish Central Statistics Office provided suicide and undetermined death data for 1980-2006. The National Registry of Deliberate Self Harm collected data relating to deliberate self harm presentations made in 2006-2008 to all 40 Irish hospital emergency dep...